BIUST celebrates Guidance and Counsellors

SHARE | Sunday, 25 January 2015 | By Othusitse Tlhobogang

Assistant Minister Dow

The Botswana Institute of Science and Technology (BIUST) has paid tribute to guidance and counselling teachers at its 3rd National Guidance and Counsellors open day in Palapye on Thursday.Some schools and their guidance and counselling teachers were given awards for contributing so much into shaping the lives of the young people on matters relating to their social welfare and career lives. Officiating at the event, Assistant Minister of Education and Skills Development, Unity Dow said the occasion was good to recognise and celebrate the role of guidance and counselling teachers and the important work that they do. She said guidance and counselling in the education system is central to the development of Botswana’s human capital, and also in assisting students to navigate appropriate career paths through institutions such as BIUST, which have far reaching benefits for students, employers, the economy of the country and the nation at large.“The effective and successful delivery of guidance and counselling in our schools depends on those teachers who have been entrusted with the most delicate and sensitive responsibility,” Dow said.She hailed teachers for the sacrifice that they make in order to build lives and characters for the country because when the students succeed in their endeavours, it is because the life decisions that most students make are based on the information that they have received.She added that it is important that guidance and counselling teachers are equipped with the information, skills, and knowledge to guide learners, and as such applauding BIUST for the initiative. The teachers that won awards this year were from Naledi Senior Secondary School, Moshupa Senior Secondary School and Seepapitso Senior Secondary School.BIUST Provost and Deputy Vice Chancellor for Academic affairs Dennis Siginer, said that though they will have their first graduates in 2016, they know that they will produce graduates that are ready to transform the economy of Botswana mostly through research because they also focus more on that. James Katende from BIUST’s engineering department added that they also want to foster strong international relations and collaborations with other universities around the world. Presentations were also made by Botswana Chamber of Mines on outlook of Botswana’s mining sector, while the Botswana Police Service made a presentation on how they can combat drugs and illegal substances among students. The teachers were also told to make sure that they are ahead in terms of issues because the children that they teach are advanced in terms of what is happening in the world because of technology.